The police Sunday arrested four members of Hindu militant group Sri Ram Sene for vandalising pushcart stalls run by Muslim vendors in Karnataka’s Dharwad district.
The arrestees are Mailarappa Guddappanavar, Mahaling Aigali, Chidanand Kalal and Kumar Kattimani.
“We have arrested four of the eight accused persons and a search is on for the others,” Superintendent of Police P Krishnakant.
On Saturday, members of the Sri Ram Sene shouting Jai Shree Ram vandalised at least four carts near the Sri Nuggikeri Hanumantha temple. The Hindutva men threw hundreds of watermelons and coconuts on the streets.
The videos of assault went on viral.
The incident comes days after Hindutva groups launched a campaign against allowing Muslim vendors near temples.
“I was fasting that day and a few men came and completely destroyed my watermelon cart. What could I have done? I’m an old man. If I interrupted to stop them, they would’ve beaten me too. So I just stood in a corner, watching them destroying my source of income,” 68-year-old Nabisab Killedar told The Hindustan Gazette.
He went on to say: “I’ve been selling fruits for 15 years here but there was no problem until now. This is my side business, just to earn some money. But now that is gone. I’m a poor man and thought I would get some income through this but now everything is destroyed.”
Police were present at the site and did nothing to stop the assailants, witnesses said.
